"So your plot is veering away from your treasured outline. That’s a good thing because it means your..."

“So your plot is veering away from your treasured outline. That’s a good thing because it means your characters aren’t stick figures— they’re coming alive and taking charge.

 

This isn’t a step-by-step road map that must be followed at all costs. A good outline contains the characters’ goals and a set of problems they traverse in pursuit of those goals. If you find they decide something else is more important that’s not the end of the world. If your outline breathes and stretches then your story is alive.”

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B. A. Binns is an award-winning African American author of contemporary, multicultural novels and short stories, including the novel, Pull.

Writer’s Care Packages from Camp NaNoWriMo and We Need Diverse Books.